The proposed tower would be built near the center of the park on top of a replacement light pole near the third-base dugout of a baseball field, said Keith Niederer, senior city planner. The associated equipment shelter is proposed just southwest of the tennis courts. The park is in McCormick Ranch at 8625 E. Mountain View Road.

The pole is 60 feet tall, and the replacement poll would add 10 feet with nine antennas and remote radio heads mounted near the top.

"We've had a 30,000 percent increase in data usage (nationally) over the last several years, with people downloading videos, shopping online, conducting keyword searches, new websites, and apps being downloaded," Fuentes said. "Everything is to try to keep up with this demand. We have extreme demand for usage and it's only going to increase. Everything is going wireless."

A gap exists in a search ring that measures approximately 1 mile in all directions, he said. The location at the ballfield is the only location that would completely close that gap, he said.

"We've been looking for potential alternative sites and we've yet to find one," Fuentes said. "But we're trying and we've looked at several other locations. What happens is there's a search ring where that gap has been identified, so what we do is try to find a location that will fix that gap. So, let's say we find a site on the edge of that circle, then what happens is that gap doesn't get plugged in."

As for safety concerns, the Federal Communications Commission regulates AT&T and all other carriers, and "they set the standard for what's safe for kids and everybody, and you have to be below that level," he said.

"I live in Scottsdale, I have kids and they have kids, and I want them to be safe," Fuentes said. "But I have to have enough confidence in the FCC, in the federal government, that they've studied that and measured that, and they've set these limits for all carriers to comply with."

Linda Scorzo, a McCormick Ranch resident, spoke before the council in opposition to the cell-tower location, saying she has collected signatures from 85 nearby residents who also are against it.

Scorzo said she and more than 100 other residents remain opposed to the location, and that she will be back before the council.

"I have not received any communication from AT&T," she said. "I did write to the council members asking them to keep me in the loop."

AT&T customers alerted the company to the coverage gap in the area, and there are residents who want the cell tower there to improve their service, Fuentes said.

"We're meeting with the council to see if they would put it back on the agenda soon," Fuentes said. "I would like to see it within a month or so back on the agenda for consideration, but we are working with them to see what else they would like us to do to communicate further with the neighborhood. We've had several meetings and open houses, and invited them to the site to answer questions. And we'll do it again."

Niederer said there has been no further activity regarding the cell-tower request, but that AT&T is planning to schedule an open house with the McCormick Ranch Property Owners Association.

"There will probably be more to report after that open house," he said.